PANEL HEARING TO FUEL WYDEN ‘SMART TRACK’: Don’t be surprised to see enforcement provisions show up in the “smart track” bill Sen. Ron Wyden is cooking up to advance trade promotion authority after yesterday’s hearing by the Finance Committee he chairs, reports Pro Trade’s Adam Behsudi.

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The Oregon Democrat’s panel heard from a pair of agriculture sectors who have suffered as a result of other countries thumbing their nose at trade agreement rules. Trade consultant Kevin Brosch told the committee how U.S. chicken producers have lived under a dark cloud for nearly two years as Mexico has dragged its feet on naming a panel to review anti-dumping duties against them. The committee also heard from Richard Wilkins, treasurer for the American Soybean Association, who mentioned problems linked to biotechnology.

“Today was a hearing to collect ideas and input, I don’t front run my colleagues on issues that are this important,” Wyden told reporters after Wednesday’s hearing. “It’s well understood that I am determined to build a new bipartisan coalition on these issues and what we’re going to do is focus on what needs to be accomplished.” Pro subscribers can read the rest of Behsudi’s article here: http://politico.pro/1iHU1MR

GOOD MORNING! Welcome to Morning Ag where your host’s boss is demanding an international investigation into why FIFA would schedule the U.S. vs. Germany World Cup contest at noon today — a work day. Completely unrelated, there may be an important lunch meeting here at Pro Ag today that will take about 90 minutes and likely involve some yelling. You know the deal: thoughts, news, tips, USA v. Germany predictions? Send them to jhopkinson@politico.com or @ jennyhops. Follow us @ Morning_Ag and @ POLITICOPro.

THE RETURN OF MEATLESS MONDAYS?: Rep. Tony Cardenas (D-Calif.) is urging his colleagues on the Animal Protection Caucus to go meatless on Mondays in order to highlight animal welfare issues and the role livestock production plays in climate change. “The production of meat employs a tremendously wasteful amount of resources,” Cardenas wrote in a letter to fellow lawmakers. “By going meat-free even one day a week, we can help conservation efforts and take one more action to help mitigate the threat of global climate change.” The letter is available here: http://politico.pro/1nKb7G9

But Cardenas’ effort is likely not to sit well with the meat industry. USDA tried to implement meatless Mondays in 2012, encouraging employees to choose vegetarian options at department cafeterias as part of an environmental effort. The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, however, quickly trashed the effort, saying that it was disrespectful to farmers and rural America and gained support of some lawmakers. USDA quickly changed its tune. More from the New York Times on the scuffle available here: http://nyti.ms/TkOcsp

OCEANA: BYCATCH WORTH $1 BILLION ANNUALLY: The fish discarded as bycatch by U.S. commercial fishing vessels could be worth anywhere from $500,000 to $2.6 billion each year, with the annual value likely falling around $1 billion, Ocean says in a report released this morning with the intention of discouraging wasteful fishing practices.

The advocacy group says it used federal bycatch and other data to determine the value of fish being thrown out.

“While fisheries management and science are complex and continually evolving, the logic of bycatch economics is simple: waste not, want not,” Ocean says in the report. “Several countries around the world have employed innovative management schemes and fishing techniques that use economic incentives to reduce bycatch. Fisheries managers in the U.S. should provide similar incentives for fishermen to transition to cleaner operations that will improve the resilience of fishery resources and fishing communities into the future.” The report is available here: http://politico.pro/1mrRBBr

ROBERTS PUSHES BACK ON WATERS RULE: Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) took to the Senate floor yesterday to rail against EPA’s proposed “Waters of the U.S.” rule and to gather support for his bill, which would prohibit EPA from moving forward with any changes.

“I think there is a is a file down there in the basement of the EPA, must be a big one — [that contains proposed rules on] rural Virginia dust, the navigable waters situation, endangered species so that the taking of farmers ground to plant native grass to protect the lesser prairie chicken, which we can’t even find, on and on and on — I think it must be labeled ‘What Drives Farmers and Ranchers Crazy,’” Roberts said. Every so often, “someone opens that draw and we go through this whole thing again. ...Let’s shelve it for good.” A video of the senator’s full remarks is available here: http://bit.ly/1qJlekI

“ADDED SUGARS” A TRADE ISSUE: The Australian government, in a comment to FDA posted this week, is urging the agency to make labeling “added sugars” on the Nutrition Facts panel voluntary to avoid violating the WHO’s Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade.

The FDA introduced its proposed overhaul of the Nutrition Facts panel on U.S. foods in February, including a line for “added sugars” among other changes. The Australian government points out that a mandatory label for “added sugars” goes beyond the Codex Alimentarius guideline, which is to list “total sugars,” and that such labeling is voluntary in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

The comment also argues that the health effects between natural and added sugars “has not been well articulated” to support mandatory labeling and says the government believes that the “value of this information to consumers and their understanding of the differences between added and naturally present sugars should be determined before becoming mandatory.” The comments are available here: http://1.usa.gov/1pBNYIe

PESTICIDE AUTISM STUDY UNDER SCRUTINY: Pesticide industry group CropLife America is raising concerns about a study published earlier this week that links pesticide exposure to neurodevelopmental problems, such as autism, calling the conclusions “inaccurate and scientifically questionable.”

“Assumptions made by the study investigators are incorrect and irresponsible,” says Dr. Clare Thorp, senior director of human health policy for CLA, in a statement. “Proximity to pesticide applications does not equate to exposure … All pesticides are regulated by EPA using an extensive battery of acute, chronic and sub-chronic toxicity and exposure testing, including neurological effects... Recommended rates of use in the field are set far below a level at which there would be any harmful effect.”

Environmental groups, meanwhile, have hailed the study, pointing to it in their increased calls for reduction in pesticide use.

“The study adds to the growing body of evidence around the many pesticides with neurotoxic properties, which have the potential to harm the brain and nervous system,” Emily Marquez, staff scientist at Pesticide Action Network, says in a statement. “Pregnant women are especially susceptible to pesticides as the developing fetus is also exposed, potentially multiple times prior to birth…. The results of the study point to the need for increased no-spray buffer zones, restrictions on antiquated application methods, and dramatic use reduction as growers switch to more health protective and ecologically sound practices of pest control.”

HEADED TO A CREDIT CRUNCH? “Farmers across the country could be headed for a credit crunch if crop prices continue to drop, government and banking officials warned a House subcommittee Wednesday,” Pro Agriculture’s Bill Tomson reported.

“Declining profit margins at the end of 2013 reduced the cash flow of U.S. farmers, who then began seeking loans at the beginning of the new year, Nathan Kauffman, assistant vice president at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, explained to the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Livestock, Rural Development and Credit during its hearing.” Pro subscribers should click here for the rest of the article: http://politico.pro/1nIQqu5

CAFO EMISSIONS STUDY MOVING, BUT SLOWLY: It’s been nine years since EPA cut a deal with the livestock industry to generate data on emissions from livestock facilities in order to determine how and if to regulate them. But it seems there is no end in sight, based on a report Wednesday from E&E.

“The agency has said little about when the work will be done or when it will start three related regulatory tasks, according to sources outside EPA who track the issue closely. The long wait for results is excruciating and frustrating for stakeholders,” E&E reports. EPA reportedly told E&E that it is working on responding to a series of concerns raised about the study, though followers of the process also say change in leadership at the agency and other priorities may be hindering the process. The full story from E&E is available here: http://bit.ly/1pC9igT

MA’s INSTANT OATS

-- A $40 billion deal for Monsanto to takeover Syngenta, giving the company Swiss tax benefits, has apparently been scrapped, Bloomberg reports: http://bloom.bg/T3k44E

-- The dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico this summer is expected to be the size of Connecticut, The New Orleans Times Picayune reports: http://bit.ly/1mpZUOe

-- Whole Foods will have to pay $800,000 in penalties after an investigation found the organic and natural food chain overcharged customers at its California stores, the LA Times reports: http://lat.ms/1pgjAHR

OUT TODAY — POLITICO Magazine’s LATEST ISSUE – The award-winning magazine debuts its campaign season issue with a special report on money, politics and power in the midst of the New Gilded Age, including a look at the challenges of being gay and Republican in the Bush administration, insight from a Nobel Prize-winning economist and a profile of Obama’s controversial attorney general. Read now: http://politi.co/1u8lQjN

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About The Author

Before joining POLITICO, she spent three years at Inside Washington Publishers reporting on the EPA with a focus on chemicals policy, pesticides and water issues. Prior to that, Hopkinson was a reporter for The (Salisbury, Md.) Daily Times where she followed local governments as they tackled falling tax revenues and stagnating rural development, in addition to playing almost every mini-golf course in Ocean City, Md., in the name of a feature story.

Hopkinson earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism at the University of Maryland. She lives in Washington, D.C.